The Cuomo model [Jonn]
I’ve written about this before, but with a Washington Times article this morning about states raising taxes, i thought I’d tell it again. The Times article begins with New York’s David Paterson’s plan to inflict 137 new taxes on working New Yorkers;
One of the most sweeping revenue packages comes out of New York, where Democratic Gov. David A. Paterson wants to raise $4 billion with 137 new or increased taxes and fees in the budget, including an 18 percent so-called “anti-obesity tax” on non-diet soft drinks. Satellite TV, cigars and professional licensing fees also are targets.
“Middle-income families do not get wage increases during a recession, but neither should the states. Families have to cut back, and so should state government. They should cut spending,” said Chris Edwards, who tracks state budgets at the libertarian Cato Institute. “These states should have been retrenching after budget increases of 7 percent over the last two years, but they repeated the same mistakes they made in the late ’90s, assuming the good times were going to last forever.”
New York State missed out on the 90s boom. Mario Cuomo became governor in New York State in 1983. The first thing he did was waive the residency restriction for welfare eligibility from six months to zero. Hordes of potential welfare recipients left the south and swarmed into New York.
Soon, Cuomo realized that current revenues wouldn’t support such an influx of out-of-staters, so he raised taxes on businesses. Business reacted as businesses will…they left the State along with thier jobs. More New Yorkers joined the welfare rolls, Cuomo raised taxes again. Businesses that had been the foundation of Upstate New York’s economy for decades like General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Nestle’s, Miller Brewers packed up and left. And Cuomo kept raising taxes to make up for revenue shortfalls. It became a vicious cycle of enforced poverty.
Now, Upstate New York’s landscape is dotted with closed factories and crumbling, neglected buildings. The states haven’t learned that you can’t get blood from a stone. I don’t know how Paterson thinks he can squeeze Upstate New Yorkers any more than he already has.
Every Virginia governor of the last ten years has run on the promise to eliminate their car tax, yet none has. Maryland’s governor O’Malley, on the day he ramrodded a $1.4 billion tax increase through the legislature, added 100,000 people to the State’s healthcare rolls.
When more Americans are losing their jobs, when businesses are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, why can’t government break free of it’s old habits and actually do something for the economy rather than selfishly taking all they can before it all dries up? For a change.
Category: Politics
So what can the Govt DO to help the economy? Nothing. Seems like you and the rest of your neo-con buddies fail to see that point… a point that true conservatives knew back in the day… you know, before there were Ditto Heads, Hannity, The No Spin Zone, etc… working you guys up into a Jerry Springer-esque frenzy.
Don’t forget both sides of the aisle are complicit in today’s mess. Sure, NY is full of leeching dems, but repubs have their own spending projects, too. Dems like social welfare, repubs like international welfare.
It seems the repub model is to bitch about problems. You’ll notice there’s no solution (or attempt at a solution) offered in the above post. Dems, on the other hand, are content to whine about problems. No wonder nothing gets done in any elected body!
George W Bush has already handed us the largest deficit in history and he did his best to dig the debt to the deepest level he could. Now we’ll see if Obama can top it!! I’m betting on yes!
FNZ, I work with a lot of self-professed “conservatives” here in MN. I absolutely love engaging them in any form of debate, especially coming off of 8 years of Bush. Many of them supported that empty suit Fred Thompson for president, an altogether horrible idea seeing as the man could barely stay awake during debates. Anyhow, I work with a lot of the people you described above…it seems the conservative movement is in dire need of real leadership.
As a conservative myself I’m beginning to wonder if we’re becoming our own worst enemies – arguing with conservatives is becoming more difficult to endure than slamming the libs!!!
Kristol Kid- Amen brother! And don’t even get me started on the low down play to lure in the bible thumper crowd. “Family Values”? When did the govt (Neo-cons) start getting involved in my family’s personal values? And this incongruent insistence on playing the pro-life card? Seriously, somewhere along the way the Conservative party was hijacked. Now over the last 8 years we have seen the largest expansion of Govt powers and control ever seen in our nation’s history? Thanks GWB!! Some people like to say he is dumb, but what that man has managed to pull on the neo-cons is genius!!
Wait- why are some of the comments being deleted?
Uh, zombie, maybe you oughta check on who actually passes bills, budgets and resolutions? I think the Congress actually does that, not the pres. And if you think the deficit is large now, wait til we pass the multi-gazillion stimulus packages the Obamunist wants. Do you think Harry and Nance will stand in his way? Hell, they’ll be at the front of the line with their hands out and earmarks for the fishing industry in American Samoa and real estate dealings in Nevada.
UpNorth, who just passed the auto bailout? I’ll give you a hint – it wasn’t Congress.
Also, who empowered the Secretary of the Treasury to act as financial czar of the country? Bush again.
I’m no fan of Bush, Obama, or any of the other options, but c’mon man, you’ve got to think a little deeper than your comment above!
Slamming conservatism through George Bush is asinine. Bush isn’t a conservative. The point of this post is to highlight how neo-liberal ideas about demand-side control of economics always fails — always. It doesn’t matter who promotes it, Dems, Repubs, etc. Trying to show the failure of neo-liberal crap like raising taxes on businesses, who immediately pass that cost to consumers, is lost on neo-liberals.
And as for the comments on Fred Thompson: so I guess if he looked and sounded like Obama (may peace and blessings be upon Him) then he would have been the guy. Brilliant.
Martino, two things:
1. You’ll get no argument from me about Bush’s “conservatism” but c’mon – Fred Thompson is no different! If anything, he’s a slower-talking, Tennessee-drawling (instead of Texas twang), stiff whose only redeeming quality was his ability to read a teleprompter. The repubs desperately sought to reincarnate Reagan with Thompson, and we failed miserably.
2. Demand side economics is as big of a myth as supply side – both are doomed to failure. Fact is, upstate NY (and other locations around the country) are failing because elected officials – repubs and dems – are wholly ignorant of economics. That you seem content to pin economic ignorance on neo-liberals is not only an intellectual copout, it underscores your own economic ignorance as well.
Jonn,
Upstate New York sounds a lot like Michigan, where tax and spend policies have sent businesses heading for the hills. Institutionalizing poverty (which welfare does) has crippled the once great working class region of the rust belt. It makes you sick.
Had Thompson & Palin been the Republican ticket, the “lightworker” would be home filling out job applications today.
KK: “Supply-side” economics isn’t anything new. It is called capitalism. Neo-liberals have been at war with it since FDR. And apparently you haven’t read or heard much of Fred Thompson’s opinion pieces. The problem is that the Republican Party allows Democrats to pick their nominees in primaries. That’s how the Rs got The New York Times’ endorsed non-Democrat candidate on the ticket.
Oh, you mean the same supply side economics that people like Jack Kemp, Greg Mankiw, and Arthur Laffer champion? Methinks you have capitalism confused with mercantilism, because those economic “geniuses” who subscribe to the faulty supply side school of thought have been completely discredited in light of recent events.
Today’s conservative likes to hide behind the veil of capitalism by quoting people like the above and dusting off phrases like “Reaganonics” … but in reality they singing the praises of the aged (and disastrous) practice of mercantilism. I suggest you examine the differences before defending supply side economics as capitalism.
As for Fred Thompson, hey, the guy just ran a crappy campaign. The repubs made a mistake thinking they could reincarnate Reagan through him. Let’s just admit the guy has no business being in politics and we can move on.
The Kristol Kid,,
How ’bout we just admit that you are a bloviating gasbag with no real life, and go from there?
It’s about as accurate as anything you’ve spewed so far.
How about you tell me why freeing capital for productive endeavors is not capitalism.
AW1 Tim, you’d better smile when you say that.
Martino, the reason it doesn’t work lies in the wording of your question: “…freeing capital for productive endeavors…” is based on a false premise; namely, that capital needs to be freed before it is productive. My question, freed from what? Why was it not free to begin with?
The amount of hubris involved in a government thinking it can tinker with things like interest rates, taxes, etc. and somehow ensure prosperity for all is as laughable as it is absurd. The economy is far too complex for any person – or elected group of persons – to even begin to tackle. Yet you prefer to cling to flawed economic analysis. The government is all too happy to welcome another cheerleader, Martino!
Those who are too foolish to see beyond the binary world of today’s economic “geniuses” deserve the fate they bring upon themselves. I just wish I wasn’t harmed or affected by your foolish decisions.
Fred T. and Rudy G.ran the two worst campaigns in modern history.Props to Fred on an Incredibly smart and beautiful wife while Rudy’s is unattractive on all counts.
As to #8, I won’t feed the troll.
Uh KK: I agree with you 100%. But you are living in a land reality forgot. So we can either philosophize about qhat the world should look like, or we can deal with the hand we’ve been dealt.
See you in the funny papers.